Health and Fitness Tips

Those who regularly eat high-fat foods, processed meals, desserts and sweets are almost 60 per cent more likely to suffer depression than those who choose fruit, vegetables and fish.

Researchers claim their study is the first to investigate the link between overall diet and mental health, rather than the effects of individual foods.

Dr Eric Brunner, one of the researchers from University College London, said: ‘There seem to be various aspects of lifestyle such as taking exercise which also matter, but it appears that diet is playing an independent role.’

The study, in the British Journal of Psychiatry, used data on 3,486 male and female civil servants aged around 55.

Each participant completed a questionnaire about their eating habits and a self-report assessment for depression five years later.

The researchers found that those with the highest consumption of processed food were 58 per cent more likely to be depressed five years later than those eating the least amount.

The researchers suggest several reasons for the protective effect of a healthy diet.

They believe that high levels of antioxidants in fruits and vegetables protect against depression, as does the folate found in broccoli, cabbage, spinach, lentils and chickpeas. [Read more →]

The latest diet craze is nothing like the usual offerings. You don’t have to count calories or even cut your food intake drastically. There’s also no promise of instant weight loss, though you probably will become more trim.

What this diet will do is help prevent illnesses such as heart disease, Alzheimer’s and possibly cancer, and significantly ease the pain of chronic conditions such as arthritis.

The ‘anti-inflammatory’ diet is based on the principle that many health problems are linked to chronic inflammation caused by an over-active immune system.

The theory is that certain foods help calm the immune system.

Those who have jumped on the bandwagon include Barry Sears, creator of the Zone diet, and dermatologist Dr Nicholas Perricone (the Perricone diet).

But what sets this latest trend apart from other dietary fads is the growing number of medical experts who agree there might be much to gain from it. [Read more →]

Is there any connection between underfloor heating and allergy to cold weather? Yes there is. People who have allergy to cold weather or Cold Urticaria need warm place to reduce cold condition that can threaten them. The more warm the home the less trigger for Cold Urticaria.

As we know that allergy is a hypersensitive condition obtained through exposure to a particular allergen, a normally harmless environmental substances. Physician explain that the best way to treat allergy is by avoid the chance to exposure with allergen not medicine, except for emergency situation medicine can be use.

If you have family with highly sensitive with cold weather, install underfloor heating system for your home can make them feel comfort, especially to fight the cold in the winter season. Underfloor heating system can warm their feet easily since the system flow the heat from bottom floor to top. [Read more →]

Research shows that women who want to lose weight should ditch their diets and learn to relax instead.

At the end of a two-year study, women who followed a programme of yoga and meditation had lost weight and kept it off, while those who focused purely on exercise and nutrition had not. The ‘relaxed’ women were also generally happier and healthier at the end of the study.

Experts believe that reducing stress stops cravings for fatty foods and sweets. The team at the University of Otago in New Zealand divided 225 overweight women into three groups, according to the paper in the journal Preventive Medicine. The first group took part in yoga, meditation, and positive visualisation. The second group focused on physical exercise and nutrition, while the third received nutrition information in the post.

Study co-author Dr Caroline Horwath said all three groups of women had successfully prevented any weight gain. But ‘the most striking results’ were in the first group –they had an average weight loss of five and a half pounds (2.5kg). Dr Horwath added: ‘At the two-year mark, these women were the only ones to maintain the psychological and medical symptom improvements. [Read more →]